The Forest of Souls

The beasts were huge, by far the biggest water spirits Alice had ever seen in the Forest of Souls.
They were nearly as tall as the trees themselves, walking on a pair of spindly frog-like legs; some had massive backs, arched, with long pointy barbs along their spines and small frog-like faces; the ones with no spikes had large faces like catfish, their long whiskers trailing behind them. Each were covered with mushrooms and fungi to help camouflage them with their surroundings, even though it seemed remotely pointless, considering the great amount of space they took up. The lumbered slowly around each tree, though their transparency would probably allow them to walk right through them.
They marched with a sort of sad, lost stature, as if they were going somewhere, but they’d forgotten where halfway through their journey.
They didn’t know where they were, Alice knew that much. They were river spirits with no river left; they had no more significant point in life than newly-hatched June bugs.
Alice crouched behind a tree, watching them intently. Even though they were lost, they had to go somewhere eventually, and she was lost too, so maybe they could help each other out.
After much contemplation of that statement, Alice stepped out from behind the tree and approached one of the spirits with feigned confidence.
“Excuse me Sir,” she said, clearing her throat loudly at the Catfish. She hesitated. “Or Ma’am, if you prefer. Could you maybe direct me to the nearest village? I could direct you to the nearest pond, if you wish?”
The Catfish continued on, its large legs crashing silently through the undergrowth.
It hadn’t heard her, that much was obvious. She couldn’t blame it, if she was that size, she doubted she’d be able to hear a tiny shrimp like herself. Why, it probably thought she was just another low-flying mosquito!
“Excuse me,” she said, raising her voice slightly. “Sir-Ma’am? Can you please direct me to the nearest-” She was cut off, simply by the fact that the beast had come to a halt, causing all of the others to notice and pause as well.
It went very still, then swung its head around, directing its beady eyes at her. It crouched slightly, its sightless eyes trying to get a better look at her.
Suddenly, it reached out and grabbed her around the middle, lifting her and gazing into her stunned face with no expression whatsoever. Then again, it had the face of a fish, so even if it was showing some sort of emotion, she’d seldom be able to understand it.
It had a heavy and labored way of breathing, as if there was something horribly wrong with its lungs, causing it to inhale sharply and let its breath out with a whoosh.
Alice’s eyes widened. Its eyes were as big as her whole head, which sets quite the mental image for the ones with really big imaginations, and was probably stick in her subconscious for later dreams. It also smelled faintly of salt, even though catfish were known for mainly living in fresh-water rivers and streams.
What do you speak of small human? It asked, without moving its lips.
She swallowed hard, and cleared her throat. Confidence is key. “I was wondering if maybe… you could show me to the nearest village? I could probably show you where the nearest pond is…”